Geothermal Power Plant Cycles And Main Components

Geothermal power plants can be divided into two main groups, steam cycles and binary cycles. Typically the steam cycles are used at higher well enthalpies, and binary cycles for lower enthalpies. T...

Geothermal power plants can be divided into two main groups, steam cycles and binary cycles. Typically the steam cycles are used at higher well enthalpies, and binary cycles for lower enthalpies. The steam cycles allow the fluid to boil, and then the steam is separated from the brine and expanded in a turbine. Usually the brine is rejected to the environment (re-injected), or it is flashed again at a lower pressure. Here the Single Flash (SF) and Double Flash (DF) cycles will be presented.

A binary cycle uses a secondary working fluid in a closed power generation cycle. A heat exchanger is used to transfer heat from the geothermal fluid to the working fluid, and the cooled brine is then rejected to the environment or re-injected. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and Kalina cycle will be presented.